


The Master of Cool

by drinktea



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, criminally lame bara boys, giant dorks, shithead rin, unsmooth losers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 13:58:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5377772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drinktea/pseuds/drinktea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Makoto doesn't need someone cool. You'll both be total losers together."</p><p>(In which Sousuke cannot figure out for the life of him how to look cool in front of Makoto Tachibana—and from the look of things, he just might end up in the hospital trying.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Master of Cool

**Author's Note:**

> 12/7/2015: Moving things over from tumblr to AO3. Originally written about a year ago, inspired by a tumblr post whose link has long been broken, but went something like, "sousuke trying to be smooth going up to makoto's locker and he slips and hits his face into the side and makoto sees everything. sousuke tries to ask makoto out but all he says is maybe and smirks and walks away."

* * *

 

 

"Oi! Sousuke!"

 

He turns away from his thoughts and toward his loudmouth of a friend. "Rin."

 

Rin approaches at a fast clip. Much too fast for being on a pool deck covered in water, but Sousuke doesn't say anything. "As your captain, I haven't seen you do nearly enough laps," Rin says, covered in water droplets and with a hand on his hip. Posing like a model, Sousuke thinks with an internal snicker. Rin goes on, "I know your shoulder's in a state, but I also know you've been doing physiotherapy..."

 

Sousuke raises an eyebrow at his friend. "Not much of a joint practise if I don't practise?"

 

Rin shrugs and grins like he did when they were kids. "Well, yeah."

 

He silently regards the swimmers going up and down the lanes, each in their preferred stroke. In lanes 4 and 5 are Iwatobi, taking up prime swimming real estate with their whirling arms and green eyes. The giant clock on the wall opposite tells him that it's 8:12, and that Iwatobi's captain has done 50 metres in 26 seconds, which is bloody impressive. It's really far too early for this much nervousness to be simmering in his stomach, especially over a _crush_ , and if he's honest, he'll tell Rin to screw off until about noon, when his heart rate gets back to normal. But that's not like him and it is most definitely not cool, so he'll take the bull by the horns. Stoic, he stands and unzips his Samezuka tracksuit jacket. "Fine."

 

Rin watches his friend like he's sprouted a braid and an ice-dress. Friggin' ice queen. "What the fuck, Sousuke?"

 

Sousuke turns on Rin and tries to shoot him a nasty glare, but he knows he fails when realization dawns on Rin's face—along with a shit-eating smirk. "Ohhh. Well, don't let me keep you, loverboy," Rin cackles, and Sousuke instantly regrets ever telling his best friend about anything. He rotates his shoulders and rolls his eyes as Rin sashays over to their freestyle relay team. He'd never actually do anything to Rin, but he pictures himself tripping the dear captain so he falls face-first into the pool water.

 

Sousuke chooses lane 3. It's free and it's next to Iwatobi. If he's going to swim, it may as well be next to—

 

"Yamazaki, hello."

 

Oh, god. Was he back over here already? He could've sworn he'd seen that torso heading the other way...

 

Keeping a stutter in check, he says, "Yo, Tachibana." He raises a hand in greeting. He's grateful for the goggles that obscure his eyes because they'd surely give his panic away. It's weird, what the Iwatobi captain does to him subconsciously. He's never been this excitable before.

 

Tachibana's head tilts to one side in concern. "It's great that you decided to swim this practise! Are you sure your shoulder's okay?"

 

Sousuke tries not to gape. Tachibana remembers about his shoulder? But wait—of course Tachibana remembers. Tachibana is the single nicest person he's ever met, practically made of concern and kindness and rippling pectorals—

 

"Uh, um, not that I'm telling you what to do! Sorry," Tachibana apologizes quickly, taking Sousuke's silence badly. Even at this distance, Sousuke can see Tachibana's ears turn the slightest shade of pink.

 

Crud. The last thing he wants to do is to make Tachibana feel guilty or awkward. He can do this. He can talk to Tachibana. Tachibana is a normal guy. Tachibana is a nice guy. A nice, normal, green-eyed, backstroke-swimming, palpitation-causing angel with a heart of gold—

 

Sousuke clears his throat. "Tachibana."

 

The Iwatobi captain looks up, his mouth still bent into a screwy line.

 

"Free, 100 metres. Race you."

 

And Sousuke can't help it when his face relaxes into a grin, mirroring Tachibana's own. Damn, Tachibana has a nice smile. Sweet. Like, cavity-inducing. "You're on!"

 

Since freestyle is the second-best stroke for both of them (he might've been watching when Tachibana swam the 200 metres that one time), Sousuke figures the match should be pretty fair. And it is. They take off with twin dolphin kicks and surface perfectly in tandem at the 5 metre mark. They somersault against the opposite end in unison. Tachibana's stroke is fluid while his is more reckless, but they nearly tie, his fingers touching bare milliseconds before Tachibana's do. What a race. He needed something to get his heart pumping and his mind off of the nervous pit at the bottom of his stomach, and this was perfect. His muscles are singing with strain. He's smiling without knowing it. It's only when he yanks his cap and goggles off that he realizes their throwdown has caught the attention of their teammates.

 

"Yamazaki-senpai! You're so cool!" exclaims Momo, punching the air.

 

"Waaah, why does Sou-chan get to race Mako-chan?" Hazuki whines. (Sousuke's eye twitches upon hearing his nickname.)

 

"Not bad, Sousuke," Rin says appreciatively, offering a hand. Sousuke vaults out of the water, missing the starting block by mere inches.

 

He looks down at lane 4 and the swimmer in it. He offers a rare smile. "Good match, Tachibana," he says. Then, without thinking too hard, holds out a hand to him.

 

Tachibana's lips quirk at the corners. "A-ah, thanks, Yamazaki," he says, shyly scratching his cheek. His other hand lands in Sousuke's waiting one, and then he's being hauled out of the water.

 

And crap. Crap crap crap. Sousuke pulls Tachibana up with entirely too much force because the next thing he knows, their foreheads connect. Sousuke winces just as Tachibana lets out a yelp. "Ow, shit," he cusses, using his free hand to rub his eye. "Sorry, Tachibana. Are you okay?"

 

Tachibana has one green eye closed as he rubs a spot on his forehead. "Ah, it's fine, Yamazaki. Thanks," he retains his perfect manners.

 

It is then that Rin declares, in all his captainly grace, that practise is over. Sousuke turns away from Tachibana with deep mortification to head into the locker room. Just when they were going somewhere, he had to headbutt the guy. Smooth.

 

Rin finds him and stuffs his Samezuka jacket into his arms. Then he leans in and whispers, "Looks like you just got... _lovestruck_."

 

"Shut up," Sousuke says, and in spite of himself, he laughs.

 

"Seriously though, what's stopping you? Ask him out already," Rin nags.

 

Sousuke spots Tachibana in his peripheral vision, walking into the locker room with his teammates flanking him. Their butterfly swimmer is exclaiming over Tachibana's _beautiful stroke_ while Hazuki continues to opine about how unfair it is that _Sou-chan and Mako-chan_ left him out of their race. Nanase observes what Sousuke is going to guess is a bump on Tachibana's forehead, because Nanase's blue eyes catch Sousuke's and harden into a glare. Holy shit.

 

"Haru looks like he wants to eat you for breakfast. And not in the way you want to eat Makoto for breakf—ow! What the hell!"

 

Sousuke's elbow disconnects from Rin's side. "Lay off, Rin."

 

Rin sobers up quick. "Fine, fine." He clams up the whole way to the locker room and grabs his stuff to take to the shower, leaving Sousuke alone in one of the rows. Frustrated with himself, Sousuke finds a lone stall and scrubs the chlorine out of his hair a little too roughly.

 

It's when he's returning to his locker for his clothes and shoes that he sees the Iwatobi crew minus one captain walking out. And despite his earlier failure, Sousuke can't help but keep his eye out for Tachibana.

 

He starts like a spooked horse when he finds Tachibana in his row of lockers. "Hey," he says, trying to maintain his cool.

 

"Oh, hi, Yamazaki," Tachibana says, as if he hadn't just been headbutted not twenty minutes ago. He's pulling a stark white v neck on over his bare torso. He looks up at Sousuke. "Nagisa insists on racing us at the next joint practise," he laughs, and Sousuke's sure he's only half-kidding, but he laughs along.

 

Sousuke pulls on his boxer briefs underneath his towel. "We'll have to then, just to get him to stop whining about it."

 

Tachibana laughs, and it's music to Sousuke's ears. "I really did enjoy our race today," Tachibana says now, smiling. "It's been awhile since I got to swim like that."

 

And with those words, Sousuke knows that if he wants something to happen, now is the time to act. He makes to lean against the lockers. "Same here. I want to make it up to you about the—"

 

And then Sousuke's arm is slipping and his face is smashing against the lockers and his neck just about snaps and his dignity keels over, dead.

 

"Yamazaki! Oh my god, are you alright?" A white v neck is hovering in front of him. "Okay, you're bleeding. I'm taking you to the nurse."

 

Is he? He belatedly puts a hand up to his face. Nosebleed. Ha, if only Tachibana knew. "It's okay, really," he tries to protest, but his nose won't stop bleeding. He's bled onto Tachibana's shirt, even.

 

"Come on," Tachibana insists, gently peeling Sousuke's face away from the lockers and pulling him up by the bicep. "Don't make me carry you," he threatens in the least intimidating voice ever. Sousuke decides that Tachibana carrying him would definitely do away with the last shreds of his dignity though, so he begins to walk.

 

"Look down and pinch your nose," Tachibana orders. Sousuke thinks to himself that Tachibana definitely has younger siblings because this response, this tone of voice, this _everything_ reeks of older brother sentiment. He doesn't say a word, looks down and pinches his nose. He can't really tell where he's going like this, but Tachibana knows everything apparently and reaches over with a hand to his upper back to guide him. How does Tachibana even know the layout of Samezuka?

 

There's rapping at a door, door-opening sounds, and then a greeting. "Hi, Miss Nurse!" says Tachibana like a four-year old, "My friend here hit his head and now his nose won't stop bleeding."

 

Sousuke looks up with a flat glare for Tachibana. Tachibana smiles back with the look of an angel. Wait, is Tachibana being playful?

 

The nurse makes a fuss over Sousuke for about ten minutes. She helps substantially though so he can't get too annoyed. And all the while, Tachibana is sitting there making smirky faces. Okay, he _has_ to say something!

 

As soon as the nurse leaves and he's free to go, Tachibana stands and turns toward the door, a hand already on the knob. "Hey, Tachibana," he says, catching the door.

 

"Yes, Yamazaki?" Tachibana gazes those few centimetres up at Sousuke. They're standing so ridicuously close because he's all but blocked the door. Tachibana's shirt has his blood on it, and his forehead has a bump, and his eyes are the lightest green...

 

Sousuke can only ask softly, "If I asked you out, what would you say?"

 

Tachibana's eyes flare a brighter green and his lips part the slightest bit, but aside from that, Sousuke doesn't see anything else. He's so focused on the face in front of him, the smell of chlorine and body wash wafting from his skin, and he just knows what Tachibana has to say. He has to say—

 

"Maybe."

 

Sousuke snaps back to reality. _What?_

 

He stares blankly at Tachibana. Was he imagining things this whole time?

 

"Well, I've really got to get going, Yamazaki. I'll see you later," Tachibana breaks the spell by closing his eyes and smiling, then gracefully steps out of the doorframe. "Don't catch a cold!" are his parting words. And he disappears down the corridor.

 

It is then that Sousuke remembers—this whole time, he's been clad in only his towel.

 

Could he be any less cool?

 

  

* * *

 

 

"You're so fucking pathetic," Rin confirms for him a couple days later.

 

When Sousuke only grunts, Rin knows to tone it down. "But hey, you don't have to come to joint practise today if you don't want to. I'll tell everyone you've got the runs."

 

Sousuke just shakes his head and laughs weakly. "I'll join you later," he promises. Once Rin gets up and hauls his bag onto his shoulder, Sousuke flops down onto the lower bunk. "Don't work 'em too hard, captain."

 

"Just Momo," Rin laughs maniacally. Sousuke can hear him even once the door is closed and Rin is walking down the hallway. How did his best friend get to be so nuts?

 

... And how did he get to be utterly unsmooth? Sousuke lets out a sigh. Now that he’s alone, he’s free to contemplate this very depressing question. It's not as if he were the master of cool before (now _there's_ a title), but there's something in particular about Tachibana that makes him a total mess. The way he moves in the water, the faint smile he sports as he listens attentively, the strength of his hand in that grip—it's all so disarming. Tachibana is just so... different.

 

Could it be that this is more than a regular crush? He wouldn't feel so utterly defeated otherwise.

 

Sousuke sits up, giving himself a headrush. Ah, who cares. Tachibana already said no anyway. What good is it thinking about it anymore? He yanks on his legskins and Samezuka jacket, stuffs a change of clothes into his gym bag with his towel and goggles, and closes his dorm room door behind him. He'll swim it off. He's been doing physiotherapy religiously now that his secret's out, and his shoulder withstands the stuff he puts it through a bit better. He'll do butterfly today.

 

He breathes the chlorine smell in deep, striding along the deck and taking lane 8 for himself. It's against the wall, but whatever. He needs to not watch lanes 4 and 5. He must be giving off some don't-talk-to-me vibes or Rin actually told them all he had the runs, because no one approaches him. The water feels good, cool bordering on cold just like lane pools should be, and Sousuke pushes off of the wall with more than his regular force. He gives a perfect underwater dolphin kick to the 5 metre mark before rising out of the water with the aggression of a shark before plunging back in again. He doesn't give it his 100% because he doesn't want to exhaust himself or wreck his shoulder again, but he does a good 5 laps before he takes a rest, sitting in the water at the head of the lane.

 

A couple of minutes into his resting, another figure joins him. "Yamazaki-senpai, hello," Nitori greets.

 

"Hey, Nitori," Sousuke says.

 

Nitori nods, then takes off for a lap of breaststroke. Sousuke catches himself observing Nitori with the criticism and care of a coach again.

 

When Nitori returns, he seems to examine Sousuke. "Senpai, do you feel better?"

 

Sousuke tries to smile. "Rin told you I got horribly sick?"

 

Nitori shakes his head, focused and oblivious to joking as always. "I mean just now. You're feeling better?" he presses.

 

Sousuke's brow stitches in confusion. "Nitori, I don't understand."

 

Nitori seems to screw up some courage. "Senpai, you were swimming really hard. You were splashing the swimmers in lane 6, and we had to move from the bench over there..."

 

Sousuke looks over toward the deck, where indeed, no one is sitting anymore because the bench is waterlogged. Oops.

 

Sousuke turns back to his teammate. "Sorry."

 

Nitori nods. But persistent as ever, he wants to make sure—"Are you alright?"

 

Nitori would be ten times more annoying if he weren't so earnest and humble. Sousuke just smiles at the younger boy, and for the first time today, his tone softens. "I will be. Thanks, Nitori."

 

Nitori nods, looks up, then stutters, "U-uh, you're welcome, Y-Yamazaki-senpai. I'll go ahead now!" And takes off into the water.

 

Okay, Nitori is kind of jittery all the time, but that seemed especially jittery. Sousuke turns around toward the starting blocks and holy crap what is happening because it's—

 

"Yamazaki-san."

 

"Nanase."

 

Nanase is as impassive as ever, looking down on Sousuke because of their current height difference. "I'd like to talk to you," he says sparingly, then turns around and walks towards the windows, not waiting for a reply. Well, now Sousuke has no choice but to follow, doesn't he? Sousuke hoists himself up and out of the water with the ladder cut into the pool wall and follows Nanase's path.

 

Nanase watches him approach. "I'm letting you know right now that I don't approve."

 

Sousuke stares at Nanase. Just what is this guy talking about? He could be using echolocation for all Sousuke knows.

 

In an uncharacteristic move, Nanase continues to speak. "But Makoto seemed happy so I'm not going to interfere."

 

Sousuke narrows his eyes at Nanase. Is he talking about their race? What, like no one else is allowed to swim alongside Tachibana? Nanase really knows how to get under his skin. "Gee, thanks," Sousuke says sarcastically. "Do I have your approval to race Hazuki too?"

 

And then something weird happens. Nanase starts to stare at Sousuke like _Sousuke_ is the crazy one. "I'm not talking about your race," Nanase says, and is he talking extra slow? He totally is. Rude.

 

"Then what are you talking about, Nanase?"

 

Nanase just regards Sousuke with a probing sort of look before shaking his head. "Never mind," he mutters, then walks past Sousuke and dives into lane 5.

 

What just happened?

 

"Sou-chan, Sou-chan!" A voice from about a foot down sings an abomination of his name. The owner of that voice then grabs his arm and tries to forcibly drag him toward the pool. Who else but Hazuki?

 

"Hazuki, could you drop the -chan?" he asks calmly, letting himself be dragged to starting block 3.

 

"Of course not!" Hazuki gratingly replies, then goes to stand at the head of an empty lane 2. "Mako-chan will tell you it's no use, won't you, Mako-chan?"

 

Mako... chan?

 

"Ah, it is. Not that I mind. After all, that's how Nagisa-kun is."

 

Sousuke looks down and to his left. Ah. That smile. "Ready, Yamazaki?" Tachibana asks, pulling his goggles down over his eyes.

 

And then he remembers: the promised race. Right. He takes off his jacket and tosses it into a bin as Hazuki enters the water. Then he's entering the water himself, bookended by Iwatobi members.

 

"I won't go easy on you, Sou-chan, Mako-chan!" Hazuki exclaims, grinning.

 

"Now, now," Tachibana says deceptively lightly, "Don't count me out yet, Nagisa." Sousuke turns from the open lane in front of him to see the firm set of Tachibana's jaw and a hint of a smile. He can feel Tachibana's competitive spirit roaring to life and he just can't help it—it makes him a little hot under the collar. He doesn't say anything for fear of proving his definite uncoolness in front of Tachibana yet again, just turns to face the lane in front of him.

 

"100 metres, free," not Tachibana, not Hazuki, but _Ryugazaki_ announces, and with all the authority of an official. "Take your marks."

 

When the hell did this turn into such a formal event? Sousuke hastily pulls his goggles on.

 

"Ready? Go!"

 

Starting in the water as opposed to off a block is always harder, and Sousuke is thrown by all the interactions of today, so his start is a bit late. He surfaces later, but makes up for it with his quick stroke. By the turn, he's overtaken Hazuki and catching up to Tachibana. At this position, he can see Tachibana in his periphery, those long strong legs kicking evenly and his breathing pattern just a little different—one, two, three, breathe. The pattern Sousuke himself favours.

 

Tachibana touches just before he does.

 

Hazuki finishes too and tears his cap off, exclaiming _what a great race_ and _you're both so fast._

 

But he's looking at Tachibana and Tachibana is looking at him. "We traded," Tachibana finally says. His goggles are off and Sousuke can see the smile in his eyes. Sousuke can feel the potential for heartbreak right there across from him in lane 4, and he can't help but be a bit paralyzed.

 

Sousuke offers something that might be a smile. "Hm, yeah," is all he says before climbing out of the water.

 

 

* * *

 

  

It's been about two weeks since his dignity was thrashed, which means five joint practises. And at every one, he had to watch the bent of his mouth, the wander of his gaze, the sag of his shoulders. Turns out it's pretty tiring pretending like nothing happened, especially when the object of your affection is constantly there and constantly gorgeous.

 

Rin ribs him a little in the locker room after one such practise. "Makoto doesn't need someone cool. You'll both be total losers together."

 

His lips purse a little at that. Not for himself, but for _Tachibana_. Ugh, what is he turning into?

 

Rin rolls his eyes. "Fine, sulk. I've gotta meet Gou for lunch. See ya!" And his best friend takes off.

 

Sousuke sighs, a little relieved to be left alone. He towel-dries his hair and throws his shirt on over his shoulder brace. Then he hauls his bag over his good shoulder. He doesn't feel like cafeteria food today. Maybe he'll go to that cafe a few blocks down.

 

"Yamazaki."

 

Sousuke almost, _almost_ has a heart attack there in what he thought was the empty locker room. He turns, but he doesn't need to, because he knows whose voice that is. "Tachibana."

 

"Looks like we're last again," Tachibana says with a laugh, and Sousuke stiffens on the casual reference to the time he put that last nail in his own coffin. Tachibana is even wearing the same white v neck, blood splatter-free.

 

"Looks like it," he echoes.

 

They walk on in silence out of the locker room, down the halls of Samezuka Academy and out into the late morning sunshine. He's about to bid Tachibana goodbye because his teammates are surely waiting for him, and Sousuke himself is nervous as ever about spontaneously bleeding on his crush or giving his crush a black eye or accidentally slipping on the pool deck or anything. But then Tachibana turns to him with a disarming smile. "Yamazaki?"

 

"Uh, yeah?"

 

Tachibana scratches his cheek in what Sousuke is beginning to recognize is a nervous gesture. Then he looks up at Sousuke with a crooked smile. Sousuke just about dies in response.

 

"Are you ever going to ask me out again, or...?" Tachibana trails off, ears turning pink.

 

Sousuke gapes before he realizes it's not cool—oh, _screw being cool_. "I—I thought you weren't interested."

 

Tachibana's gaze darts over from where he's been staring at Sousuke's shoe. "I said maybe, I didn't say no. God, is that why you haven't—"

 

Maybe. Tachibana really had said maybe, hadn't he? For crying out loud—

 

Oh, geez. They _are_ both losers.

 

"Tachibana, do you want to have lunch?" he says now, pairing his question with a very tiny, very tired, very relieved smile.

 

Tachibana runs his hand through his hair and takes a step closer. "Call me Makoto."

 

  _Finally._


End file.
